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Graham Heathcote

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Altrincham v Crawley Town

Altrincham boss Graham Heathcote believes his charges need to cut out the mistakes if they are to beat Crawley Town at Moss Lane on Saturday.

The Robins have conceded late goals in their two previous fixtures this term and Heathcote feels that they need to concentrate for the full 90 minutes against the Red Devils.

He told the Messenger: "If we can maintain that level of performance, we are going to be a very competitive side in what is a tough league.

"It was a terrific effort at Luton, and anyone leaving the ground on Tuesday would have been shaking their head and wondering how on earth we hadn't taken all three points.

"There was great movement, pace and ability against Darlington, and our defending, in general, was good. The fact remains we have conceded four goals in the two games and have to cut out silly mistakes, but there was a lot to be encouraged about."

"We're still working on fitness levels with one or two players, and which combinations might work best, and it will probably be six to eight games before we get a true picture of where we stand. But what I've seen so far has been very positive."

Heathcote will be without midfielder Robbie Lawton (back) and striker Michael Twiss remains sidelined.

Meanwhile, Crawley assistant boss Paul Raynor is aware of the size of the task awaiting his side.

He told BBC Sussex:"Graham [Heathcote, Altrincham boss] is very astute and his hard work pays off. It's a hard place to go and we'll be ready.

"We don't fear going there but we need to be mindful. They're a good side. They're well organised and have got some good players.

"Performance levels in the last couple of games have been fantastic, we just haven't got the points we deserved."

The Broadfield Stadium outift welcome back goalkeeper Michel Kuipers from suspension, but will be sweating on the fitness of defender Sam Rents (facial injury) and midfielder Nick Carter (groin).